Five Companies

Many smaller foreclosure clean up businesses get work from larger mortgage field services companies. The trash-out and foreclosure clean up industry is on the rise, as is evident in foreclosure industry reporting data from sources like RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosures. According to RealtyTrac, 3,825,637 foreclosure filings were reported in 2010 on U.S. properties. That's a double digit increase from the year 2008.
Foreclosure clean up companies handle the clearing out, cleaning up and ongoing interior and exterior maintenance of homes that have been foreclosed upon by banks and mortgage companies. Services offered by foreclosure clean up companies can include a wide spectrum of services, well beyond cleaning. Services offered by these businesses include cleaning, debris removal, painting, minor repairs, lawn maintenance, applying tarps to roofs and full roof repairs, pressure washing, gutter cleaning, one-time and ongoing inspections, vehicle removal, tree cutting, winterization, lock changing, window and door boarding, and more.
Establish Your Foreclosure Cleaning Enterprise First
Many smaller foreclosure clean up companies get work from property preservation companies. While there are a plethora of property preservation companies in existence, it can be a time-consuming process signing up with all of these entities. The best way to start getting work is to establish your business with the proper license, insurance, and equipment.
Your License: Often a business occupational license from your county's County Clerk Office is what is needed. Each county is unique, so call your government office that handles business licensing in your county to find out what type of license you will need based on the services you choose to offer.
The Business Insurance: Next, contact a local insurance agency and discuss your business so you can best determine the type of coverage your company will need. At minimum, you will need liability insurance coverage. Also plan to discuss securing workmen's compensation insurance and the appropriate coverage for your vehicle.
Preparing for Equipment: There are a few routes you can take when it comes to getting equipment for your business. You can either a) purchase equipment, b) rent equipment, or c) use the equipment you already have on hand in your garage or basement to start your business. Plan equipment based on the services you plan to offer in your business.
NOTE: If you niche your services, or offer one-stop shop services based on subcontracting or referring out services, you will need limited equipment to start. However, if you choose to become a one-stop shop and do everything yourself, you will need more equipment. Keep this in mind as you plan your business and equipment needs.
After you have properly researched the industry, planned your business and marketing strategies, secured proper license and insurance, and have your equipment needs in order, it will be time to start signing up for work.
The best way to start is to register your business with larger property preservation companies. Below is a list of five large property preservation companies. Contact them for their vendor packets and start signing up your company so you're part of their databases.
List of Five Top Property Preservation Companies with Which to Register
1. Mortgage Contracting Services, LLC: A national property preservation and inspection company founded in 1986. (Website: mcs360 DOT com)
2. Cyprexx Services: Cyprexx is a national field services business that provides property preservation, inspection, repair and maintenance services to some of the largest financial organizations, government institutions, asset management corporations, and brokers in the U.S. (Internet Address: cyprexx DOT com)
3. Five Brothers: This company has been in business for more than 40 years providing property preservation, inspection, and REO management-related services. (Website: fivebrms DOT com)
4. Field Asset Services, Inc.: Field Asset Services is an REO asset management servicing and property preservation company responsible for more than 7.3 billion dollars in residences on behalf of almost 30 major nationwide clients. They regularly care for 120,000 plus properties. (Site: fieldassets DOT com)
5. Lenders Asset Management Corp. ("LAMCO"): LAMCO has been in existence since 1989 providing residential REO asset management and outsourcing solutions for national lending institutions, banks, servicers, and investment firms. (Web: lendersreo DOT com)
Planning for Property Preservation Tests
When you register your foreclosure clean up business with these large property preservation companies, be prepared to show proof of insurance, business registration, and quite possibly be prepared to take a property preservation quiz. Most of these quizzes are straight-forward tests that simply judge your comprehension of basic industry terms and tasks. Much of the test information is quickly available online -- if you don't already know it.
Foreclosure Clean Up Jobs for Years to Come
Remember, once you get registered with these companies and your credentials check out, these larger entities can provide your company with bulk foreclosure cleaning work for years to come.
Much success registering your REO trash-out business with these companies for foreclosure clean up jobs!
For a larger list of property preservation companies and other key businesses with which to register for foreclosure cleaning and REO trash-out work (with direct vendor job links), see the Property Preservation & Real Estate Industry Contracting and Subcontracting Directory.
Cassandra Black is the author of How To Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business, and the Owner of Foreclosure Cleanup, LLC, and Real Estate Cleanup, Atlanta, GA

Couples in Business

For couples in business (copreneurs) the already challenging terrain of running a company can be complicated by their personal lives being intertwined with their company life. Open and honest communication is critical to making it work and it's likely they will need to improve their ways of relating to each other. One very typical scenario that occurs with copreneurs is when one partner loses their passion for the business and is afraid to say so. In normal circumstances, if this were any other job they could just leave, but it's much more complicated when you feel your marriage, family and livelihood are at stake.
Business partners should always discuss and agree expectations and possible exit strategies right at the beginning of a venture but they very often don't because they're so caught up in all the excitement of creating their new enterprise. They're so full of dreams and ambitions that they don't stop to consider what will happen if these dreams and ambitions change... and they do! Couples who are running a company together are especially susceptible to this, perhaps because of the 'forever after' aspect to their relationship. However, there will inevitably be times when difficult situations and potential conflicts arise - so it pays to talk about how you will handle these before they occur.
Here are some typical red flags that signify things aren't going well in a copreneur partnership:
* You're not happy at work.
* You've lost sight of your original goals and don't know why you're in business
* You find yourself avoiding certain conversations and the confrontation they may provoke
* You start to keep your true feelings to yourself
* You have feelings of resentment and discontent
* You often feel angry or have emotional outbursts
* You work hard to please your partner, at the expense of your own needs
* You avoid making decisions, or you make decisions without consultation with partner
* You've taken your attention off your own self-care
* Your sex life has dropped off or is non-existent
* You don't feel as though your partner listens to you
* Your arguments revolve around resentment and blame
* One partner feels like they're carrying the load of the business
* You procrastinate
Couples in business certainly do face added challenges, however, successful copreneurs are quick to notice any of the red flags listed above and address them before they harm their relationship (personal and/or professional).
Elaine Seager created Business-Coaching- Insights.com to help couples (copreneurs) who work together remain passionate about their small business. Find out more about setting business goals so you remain successful copreneurs.

Office Cleaning Service

Your office is one of the places which will help judge your entire company. A lot of people judge the office by looking around, and seeing how clean it is, and what kind of decorations it has, and so on. If it so happens that your office is not very clean, then it might give the impression to visitors that you're not taking care of such a small aspect, which means that your company might not be so great after all. Although this is not true, it is usually the first thought that a lot of people get when they first visit an office which is not clean.
In order to avoid such a situation, you have to look for ways to keep your office clean at all times. You can do this by hiring a professional cleaning service in order to maintain and keep your office clean at all times, so that there is no chance of any one getting the wrong impression about your company. All you have to do is to hire these professionals in order to keep your office clean, and you will notice that your office will begin to look at its best by being spotlessly clean.
Hiring a professional cleaning service in Montreal can prove to be quite a task, since there are a lot of services to choose from. For this reason, you have to be prepared to choose a service that is able to present itself well. Most professional cleaners will be able to give you the exact information that you're looking for to hire them, and will cite examples of their other clients. Based on this information, you can make a good decision regarding the cleaning service that should look after your office's cleanliness. It is important to take a good decision at this step.
One of the important things that you need to take into consideration is that you have to choose a cleaning service company which has a lot of experience in dealing with office environments. It is indeed very important to keep your office clean at all times, so you have to be very careful about the kind of service that you choose to keep your office clean. This will help you be in a position where you will be able to see a lot of changes regarding the cleanliness of your office on a regular rate.
Once you have chosen a good cleaning service, you will immediately begin to notice the change in your office and you will definitely be pleased with the result. Even the visitors who come to your office will be impressed by how clean it looks and this will definitely give your company a boost in terms of good impressions, and you will be in a better position to deal with your regular business aspects. So do put some thought into the matter of keeping your office clean, and you will notice that you will soon be able to improve your office in many other aspects.
Office cleaning in Montreal can be a costly affair if you don't sign up with the right company. Ensure you get the best deals on cleaning services in Montreal by working with a reputed and honest cleaning company. Follow the links to find one.

Small Business Advice

Books, TV and the Internet are awash with small business advice. But if your company is not as successful as you'd like it to be where do you start? If you are looking for the Holy Grail, a particular nugget of information that will transform your enterprise in to something Richard Branson would be proud of, maybe you're looking in all the wrong places! Because sometimes when a small company is not going so well, a question is the answer you're looking for.
The questions that owners ask themselves are critical to the extent that it may determine their success or failure. For example, you may get some advice that you need to spend more on marketing or spend your marketing budget differently when in actual fact if you asked and answered deeper questions such as:
* Do my customers really want what I'm selling?
* Are we an attractive company to do business with?
* Is it clear what we do for customers?
* Am I clear about what makes us unique?
* Have I got the right business model?
You may realize there is little point reconsidering your marketing strategy when you haven't quite got your basic building blocks in place. Questions can be revealing which is why they are a key tool used by business coaches. In fact, this is one of the major benefits of coaching because your coach will not only ask you the difficult questions, they will also give you an honest answer to your own questions (unlike friends and family who often don't want to offend you!). When enterprise owners get used to asking themselves deeper more difficult questions, they are far more likely to find the real answers.
Yes, educating yourself with all the resources on TV, in books and on the Internet is enormously beneficial to your organization, but you also need to make sure you're not missing the blindingly obvious. Don't go searching for the Holy Grail when the real answer (and the very best small business advice) is right here on your doorstep - the asking of better questions. Very often the question is the answer!
Elaine Seager created Business-Coaching-Insights.com to help couples (copreneurs) who work together remain passionate about their small business. Get more on getting the best small business advice by asking the right questions.

Build A Website

There is nothing worse than trying to use a software and things are just too complicated to figure out where and what to do. After all, you decided to get the software to solve a particular problem and when it makes more problems, it's easy to want to hit the "uninstall this software" button. All too often, when you want to build a website, the frustration builds and confusion sets in quickly. But not all website builder software tools are built the same way. The key to your success is to find a website builder software that doesn't require much of a learning curve. When looking to build your own website, consider the following:
1. How Much Knowledge Do You Need?
Before selecting a website building software, consider how much knowledge you have about building a website. Are you a designer who can make the site look good, but you don't have any programming experience? Are you a programmer who can read and write code, but you can't make it look "pretty"? Or are you not creative nor technically inclined? Whatever level you find yourself at, consider how much extra learning you'll need in order to achieve your goal of building a website. If the anticipated learning curve is too steep or will take too much time, find a website building software that has pre built features to make the process smoother. For designers, look for pre-programmed modules that will make elements easy to add to the website. For programmers, look for easy to customize designed templates that you can add Javascript or HTMLl coding within. And, if you're the novice user to design and technology, consider choosing a website builder software that offers great designs and easy-to-use features that are simple to plug and play.
2. How Much Support is Offered?
Before deciding to purchase any website builder software, review their website to see what kind of support is offered to you as the customer. The more support outlets, the more concerned the software company is about customer's needs. There should be contact us or trouble ticket help desk where you can explain your problem and keep record of your concern. There should also be support documentation within the site. For example, video tutorials or articles with step-by-step instructions on how to do a particular task should be easily accessible. In addition, a forum is a good resource to get support from other users who are using the software. Many times you can get vital information from the forum posts far quicker than trying to go to the development company directly.
Before you pull the trigger and hand over a large amount of cash, test drive the website builder software. If there is a trial period or trial version, try out your options first. Some website builder software offers include a limited edition for free. Allow yourself some time to test the tools and you patience before paying for anything. Enjoy the experience and allow your creativity to flow.
http://www.IntellySite.com is a simple-to-use online website building tool where you can choose a website design, add/edit/delete web pages, change the names of your navigation menus, upload files and images, edit page content, create photo galleries, build contact forms, add event calendars, embed YouTube videos, integrate with PayPal and Google Checkout, and much more! With the new "page edit mode", you can edit your pages directly on your website without any HTML knowledge.

Independent Contractor

Should Your LLC Hire an Outside Contractor?
If you have formed an LLC and need to hire staff consider a contractor. There are pros and cons you should be aware of before you make your decision.
Although there are many advantages of staffing your LLC with independent contractors, the financial benefits are probably at the top of the list. You may pay an independent contractor more per hour than an employee. However, the overall expense to your business may be less than if you hired employees. If you hire an employee for your limited liability company there are a number of expenses that you pay for employees versus contractors.
•Vacation or sick time
•Health Benefits
•Social Security and Medicare taxes, which totals 6.5% of employee's compensation
•State unemployment compensation insurance, and
•Worker's compensation insurance
Just the required payments could increase your payroll expenses for employees by 25% or more.
Do you need to expand or shrink staff quickly? Contractors can be hired for a specific length of time or for specific projects eliminating lay-offs. When you hire an independent contractor for your LLC you generally hire one with expertise in a specific area reducing training time.
Hiring an outsider to staff your business may limit your LLC to legal exposure. Under state and federal laws, employees have a wide range of legal rights that an independent contractor does not such as:
•Protection from discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, color, religion, and gender
•The right to form a union
•The right to be paid minimum wage and if employed in a qualified position, overtime pay, and
•Protection under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which gives an employee the right to take time off to care for a sick family member or bond with a new child.
For all the pros of this option you might be tempted to never hire an employee again. There are however some cons of staffing your limited liability company with an outside contractor instead of an employee.
Without a written agreement, you may not have copyright ownership of the work an independent contractor creates. With an employee, in most cases the business automatically owns any work created by an employee.
A number of independent contractors employed by your business may make your limited liability company a target for government audits. Government agencies, especially the IRS get concerned if a company has numerous employees classified as independent contractors. For obvious financial reasons the IRS likes to see employees on your payroll. Employees instead of independent contractors mean more tax and insurance money paid to the government.
Although an independent contractor may be able to hit the ground running you could lose consistency in work by hiring a contractor. If your business requires the same level of work day after day an employee may be the better option for your LLC.
Mark Thomas: Mark has served in various roles in corporate America over the last 25 years, most notably in charge of large organizations with over 1000 employees. During this time, he has also owned several small businesses and has developed a keep awareness of how different the two worlds are and the special challenges faced by entrepreneurs. Because of his background, Mark is able to bring a unique perspective to new business owners and his addition to our team has all of us excited. Look for his posts to cover anything and everything related to business. He has also said that he is looking forward to hearing questions and comments from you, so please leave comments!

Small Business

America is the entrepreneurial capital of the world, yet most people aren't aware of the intricacies of starting a business. One of the most important issues in planning your business is determining how your business will be legally structured.
Businesses can be established in a myriad of ways. The simplest form of business is a sole proprietorship which is commonly referred to as a DBA or "doing business as." When you register a DBA you are formally announcing that you are personally conducting a business under an alternative name. This allows you to open a bank account, advertise and operate you own business under another name. The disadvantage to using a DBA is that you are solely liable for the problems that may occur in your business and can be sued personally. This business model may not be the best way to protect your business for your successors because it exposes you and your business to huge personal and business liabilities.
Another way to set up a business for succession is to set up a general partnership. A general partnership agreement may seem like a good way to include the future successor of your business because it allows you to engage in business together and establish a practical and planned working relationship. The disadvantage to this scenario is that partners share in the liability and losses of the business, so there is no way to protect your successor from business liabilities and lawsuits. However, there are ways to set up your business that will protect both you and your future business successors.
Many people set up limited liability partnerships (LLPs) or limited liability companies (LLCs). Limited liability partnerships operate similarly to general partnerships except one partner is generally not liable for the negligence of the other partner. Another advantage of structuring an LLP is that income taxes are passed through the business to the partner's individual income tax return. Similarly, a limited liability company has advantages because it combines the positive aspects of corporate liability protection and has the similar tax advantages of the LLP.
Generally, the best way to protect your business for your successors would be to set up a corporation. A corporation is registered with the state as a separate entity from the owner. This separation provides the business owner protection from liability incurred by the business so you and your successor will not be sued personally. Every state has different corporate benefits and entitlements. Whatever way you decide to set up your business, make sure to consult a business attorney who will provide you with accurate and current information on the corporate laws of your state.
For more information on successful Florida estate planning and asset protection techniques, please contact the South Florida law firm of Wild Felice & Pardo, P.A. at 954-944-2855 or via email at info@wfplaw.com to schedule your free consultation. Let us protect what you value most.

Valuing Small Businesses

Valuing the very small company can often be more challenging than valuing a large firm or corporation. These types of valuations most commonly arise in the divorce cases, although they also are frequently present in shareholder litigation, partnership dissolutions, and similar litigation. Often, client budgetary restrictions are an overriding consideration. However, attorneys and valuation analysts can work together from the outset of an engagement to meet client budgets and provide credible valuation. Here are a few areas where communication and cooperation can be the most helpful.
Valuation Standards. Just like attorneys, accredited valuation experts are bound by standards of professional conduct. However, none of those standards distinguish between a valuation for a small business (and perhaps small budget) and a larger business. Once engaged, valuation analysts often find themselves caught between performing a complete and credible valuation, complying with the applicable standard(s), and keeping the job within a client's budget. In litigation settings, most valuation analysts expect to be cross-examined on whether they adhered to the proper standards. If not, a lack of client funds will be no defense, and the analyst's credibility as well as the client's case could suffer.
Managing Expectations. Proper client screening is just as important in the valuation as in the legal context. Valuation analysts can help retaining attorneys to inform the client why the appraisal is necessary, its potential costs and the benefits that will inure to the case. Clients-especially in the divorce setting-will often suffer from misplaced expectations or assumptions. These clients need to receive the proper information and guidance from their professionals as to the scope of the valuation engagement, its process and the problems it can solve-as well as those it can't, including creating value in a business when in reality there may not be as much as the client anticipated or hoped.
Discovery & Access to Records. Few things can drive up litigation costs and conflict faster than trying to compel another party to comply with applicable disclosure and discovery rules. At the same time, the other side may be genuinely frustrated by receiving an overly broad and generic discovery request. Valuation analysts can work with attorneys and the client from the outset of the case to narrow and tailor the scope of production, so that the experts will receive all of the documents they need-and none of what they don't. Documenting clear, successive requests for production to the opposing party will also help in the event a motion to compel or an interim motion for fees becomes necessary.
Professional Protection. Communication and documentation are likewise critical to ensuring that both the attorneys and analysts meet the appropriate standards of care when valuing a very small business-with perhaps a small client budget to go with it. There are rarely any shortcuts in a valuation procedure that pay off in terms of case outcome or client satisfaction. By documenting every action and notifying each other whenever problems or roadblocks may arise, attorneys and the experts will help maintain their own credibility as well as their client and referral sources.
Case Study. Often, our initial due diligence reveal discrepancies concerning the integrity of the accounting records and tax returns presented. In these instances we often reconstruct one or more of the financial components to best determine the business's financial capacity. Within our website we have presented two case studies that illustrate both common and the not so common approaches to these concerns.
To learn more about MSG's business valuation, forensic accounting and litigation support services, please visit our web site http://www.msgcpa.com and our blog http://www.forensicperspectives.com.
Mark S. Gottlieb is an accomplished forensic accounting and business valuation specialist with expertise in record reconstruction and litigation support.

Systemizing Your Business

By their very nature, systems and processes tend to be detailed things, and as Entrepreneurs and small business owners you went into business to make money and generally create a better lifestyle for yourself. And for many of us, we have grand visions of what we want to do and where we want to go, but the detail is often not out strength. The detail however, is where the systems and processes are, and it's the detail, getting down into the nitty gritty of working out how to do things, and why they should be done a certain way isn't as attractive as some of the other things that need to be done such as marketing, going to events, taking to customers, creating products. But you know, it's the detailed systems and process that exist underneath these things that cause your business to create the vision that you have always wanted. Its your detailed systems and processes that create your foundation and structural framework, that provide your with the consistency, predictability, and results every time.
Lack of attention to detail in tying together your big picture with the "how", that is your systems and processes can mean missed opportunities, poor profit potential and stunted growth.
Effective systems management is carefully thought out and orchestrated to get you the results that you expect. It is a demonstration of moment to moment control. It allows you to live in the moment and not constantly of the edge of crisis, where you're floating along, fingers crossed that everything will be OK.
Your focus as a business owner must be on the proactive management of systems, rather than on coping with random system results. If you spend a good amount of time improving systems that are inefficient, problematic and not working as they should, then results will materialize.
But too often, business owners don't really get what systemizing their business really means because they are not thinking from an outside and slightly elevated perspective. Its about stepping back and taking an outside looking in approach and looking rationally and objectively, at how your business functions in terms of the things you do, the people who perform the various tasks, and the relationship between different tasks.
Because there is no one set definitive standard to systemizing your business it can be hard for a business owner whose strengths lie in other areas to really understand what the steps are, what is required to be in place, before, during and after to make sure that all the time and effort creating systems is successful. Therefore it is essential to have mechanisms in place that help you with managing the detail so that you don't have to get caught up in it, but your business can still be operating with strong solid and robust systems that give you consistent results every time.
Key Takeaway:
Tying together your big picture and how you achieve it requires attention to detail in terms of the systems and processes that you'll need to deliver your vision. Without detailed systems and processes to act as your business support framework, you will struggle to get consistent, predictable and reliable results every time. Your focus as a business owner must be on the proactive management of systems, rather than on coping with random system results
Kim Morris is a Business Systems Expert and Business Improvement Coach. Kim works with small business owners and entrepreneurs to help them to systemize and streamline their business. The beauty is that Kim uses a unique system that means you as the owner don't have to do all the systemizing yourself. To find out more about Kim's propriety system and learn how you can go from being a stressed out, time poor business owner to having an efficient and streamlined business where you can concentrate on what you love doing and not what you have to do, go to http://entrepreneursystems.com for your FREE report.

But Amazingly Powerful

The best free marketing for any business -- small or large -- has got to be PR. And, no, you don't have to employ a PR agency to do it. Because any time your name appears in print or on the radio or on the TV, you are an instant expert and celebrity. A great example of a
Free marketing strategy for any small business
And it's not hard, you don't have to be well-connected, or indeed appointed the expert by anyone. Here is one example from my own business.
My wife, The Lady Sarah knows a gal who knows a gal who runs a local free paper. She makes her money from advertisers. So, a few years back when we'd not been living here in Ireland for very long, Lady Sarah fires off an email and Lo! Within the week I'm West Cork's marketing expert -- and I could prove it because I have a column in the local free rag in West Cork to show it.
Easy.
Now, some freelance writers thoroughly loathe me because I'm writing for free. Not so. They say that because they believe themselves to be in the freelance writing business, not the marketing of a freelance writing business business. Here's a lesson: no matter what business you're in -- butcher, baker or candlestick maker -- your real business is the marketing of that business.
Why?
Because no marketing means no customers or clients; no customers or clients means no business; no business means... no business.
And so my "written for free" column gave me a page of free advertising and positioning every month.
It brought in enquiries, and it brought in business. It made me money and took me less than 30 minutes a month to write. On one occasion the MD of a web-design firm up in Cork saw it and sent me an email. Next morning he calls me and we talk. The long and the short of it was 30,000 Euro consulting contract -- all from free PR. I also appeared in other publications and as a guest-blogger on websites. Every time I did, people were searching for my name and coming to me for advice.
In fact, it didn't take too long for the lady who owned the paper too long to realise what was happening... so she set up her own marketing department and my column history (that's called being a victim of your own success...).
Now, I'm smart and good at my job. But so are a lot of other people... including YOU. The difference is, I put myself out there as an expert and it's my name appearing as an expert, not theirs.
And... perception is everything.
I don't do this any more because my business has evolved and I no longer get involved with clients on an individual basis like this, but the principle remains rock solid -- the people I do advise and consult with pursue the same strategy with great success.
The important thing to take away from this is it's not hard. These media opportunities are out there waiting for you now. Local publications are crying out for useful, informative material to put in front of their readers (because they make their money from advertising, and to please the advertisers they've got to have circulation and circulation comes from having interested readers).
Any business in any town, city or locality can do this, and do it successfully (I live in a sparsely populated part of the least populous county in a very sparsely populated country, so if I can do it, then you definitely can, unless you live in Antarctica or on the moon!).
So get chasing them. Get yourself out there as often as you can as the expert in your field.
Lead generation and direct response marketing specialist and copywriter Jon McCulloch is the author of " BIG Marketing Muscle for Small Business".
This book reveals the strategies he has used with his clients to realise response rates over 300% better than traditional techniques... and for a limited time you can download 'BIG marketing Muscle for Small Business' right now. His clients have mailed over 1 million pieces using the exact same strategies he reveals in this book - so you know they're tried, tested and proven to work in the real world.
And it's free.
Your free book is waiting for you here: